once upon…

Hi, I’m Folke — the face and muddy hands behind Dreizehn Einhalb Gramm.

It all began when my parents gifted me a La Pavoni hand-lever espresso machine for Christmas. Driven by a familiar fixation on detail, I spent weeks adjusting grind size, water temperature, and pressure in search of the perfect shot. Eventually I arrived at a small, almost accidental truth: exactly 13.5 grams of coffee for a single espresso.

At the time, this precision captured everything I believed in — the commitment to detail, the urge to optimise, the idea that perfection could be engineered. For me, Dreizehn Einhalb Gramm became a symbol of that pursuit.

from coffee to cup.

Once the espresso was perfected, the next step felt obvious: creating the cup to hold it. In early 2022, carried by enthusiasm, I bought a potter’s wheel. With a background in architecture and a bit of prior experience with clay, I assumed I could simply design the ideal vessel for my coffee.

But clay isn’t as obedient as numbers. Unlike espresso, there is no fixed formula for shaping it. Small variations change everything, and imperfections reveal themselves whether you invite them or not. I learned quickly that these details — the ones you can’t fully control — are what give a piece its character.

the illusion of perfection.

My love for coffee was rooted in precision, but working with clay taught me something different: to let go. The material demands a slower rhythm. It shifts, collapses, softens, surprises — and in that unpredictability lies its beauty. Perfection becomes something momentary, and deviation becomes part of the work.

Today, Dreizehn Einhalb Gramm no longer stands for narrow exactitude. It has grown into a balance between attention to detail and acceptance of imperfection — in my ceramics and, inevitably, in life as well.

dreizehn einhalb gramm.

All pieces are handcrafted and wheel-thrown in my studio in Frankfurt am Main. From soft clay to fired stoneware, I focus on clean forms, quiet details, and a mindful process. Each object carries the traces of its making — gentle irregularities that give it its own presence.

I believe handcrafted pottery stands against replication, mass production, and fast consumption. It invites a slower relationship with the objects we use every day. My goal is to create pieces that become part of your daily rituals, things you reach for naturally and keep for years. A reminder that beauty often lies in what isn’t fully controlled — and in everything that happens when you allow the material to lead.